The Boy with the Piercing Blue Eyes
by KaiNamikaze
Summary: Naomasa, taken from the streets and trained by the Anbu, is given a scroll that leaves his head spinning. Armed with the knowledge of the future, he will try to save the world and stop the Akatsuki before it's too late. But first and foremost, he has to save Sasuke. No pairings(yet), OC, Same idea as a time travel fic, but without the actual time traveling main char. M for Language
1. Prologue

**This story is a rewrite/alternate version/better variant of When Life Gives You Lemons. It takes the same basic idea, but twists is insanely and also makes it MUCH more rational and overall it will make more logical sense than the other one.**

 **Thanks for reading, and enjoy! (if anything, at least follow the story and read the second chapter when it comes out, because this is just a prologue.)**

 **Hn.**

 **TtTtTtT**

" _Fast!"_ a young boy thought as the masked man closed in on him. Even in the dark, it was easy to make out the white mask that the attacker wore, designed to look like a Red Panda **(because they're so fuckin cute)** , as it came closer and closer to the twelve year old boy.

He contemplated calling for help as he rolled out of the way, before scrapping that idea. No one wanted to help the gloomy orphan with the piercing blue eyes.

He never really did anything wrong, at least he never used to, but people still avoided him like the plague.

But no, no one seemed to care about the orphan with the piercing blue eyes.

It's funny really, how everyone in the village seems to be obsessed with fancy eyes. Byakugan, Sharingan, the village treats those things like treasure. But blue eyes that glow in the dark? Too creepy; too weird.

The boy didn't dwell on that as he dodged the Anbu's next assault. He needed to find a way to get away from the man before his punches finally began to land. Thinking fast, he dove to the side and took off down an alleyway. The masked man was quick to follow, but his size meant that he couldn't maneuver as well as the boy. Halfway down the alleyway, he dove behind a dumpster.

"You think hiding behind a dumpster will save you? And here I thought you were smart. Come out from there now and maybe I'll let you off lightly."

No response came from the boy with the piercing blue eyes.

"Little freak. I gave you a chance!" the Anbu said as he jumped around the edge of the dumpster to see… nothing?

There was an open window at floor level that led into the basement of the building. It was too small for the adult to fit into, and the building had no less than 5 exits that he knew about.

"Damn kid snaked me! I'll get you!"

He formed a few handseals and, ending on the Ram seal, and yelled " _Kage_ _Bunshin no Jutsu!"_

Four copies of the man poofed into existence and immediately blurred out of sight.

The original took one last look at the window before he too disappeared.

The piercing blue eyes peered out from the window a few moments later. This was one of his favorite hiding spots to go to when he was caught stealing from the local shop owners. The window was almost impossible for an adult to fit in, and the building had so many exits and windows that it was easy to escape undetected. The best part of it though was that no one ever thought to watch the window of which he entered.

He climbed out the window and moved swiftly but silently to the end of the alleyway. He sat and waited for a few moments to make sure the ninja hadn't seen him escape, before peering around the corner. The streets were quiet, but not completely empty as a wagon was coming down the road in the direction of the Hokage's tower. Running from his cover, he jumped into the back of the wagon and hid behind the whatever-the-hell-item boxes.

It was the first moment he got to sit back and take a breath. " _What the hell did I do to get Anbu after me?"_

He had stolen some bread from the baker earlier, but it was only the cheap half-loaves that no one ever bought anyway, and he had the sneaking suspicion that the baker didn't care all that much. That baker was always kinder to him than most.

"I've never seen someone as young as you avoid an Anbu that well, not counting Uzumaki that is. I'm impressed…" a voice said from next to him.

The boy shot to his feet, scared as all hell, and moved to jump out the back of the wagon.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. Nor is that Anbu. We were simply testing you," the dog-masked Anbu told the boy. Where he had been hiding the boy wasn't sure, until he noticed that one of the storage boxes was missing.

"Transformation?"

"And to know a ninja technique, albeit a simple one, without ever attending the academy? Very impressive."

"What the hell do you and that other prick want with me?"

"So hostile, like I said we were just testing you. Word on the street was that you had been avoiding capture of the Police Force for some time now, and so we decided to test you. If you failed, we would have turned you in. But… you passed."

"So? What happens now?"

"Initially, we were going to enter you into the academy, but after that display I'm thinking of dropping you right into Anbu."

"Nao. Namikaze Nao. No relation to the damned fourth, unless you count my parents getting killed by the Kyuubi being a relationship."

" _Funny that I'm the one tasked with evaluating you then, isn't it?"_

"Alright Nao, let's make a deal. You agree to come with me tomorrow to the Anbu headquarters, and I'll agree to pay for lunch AND dinner. Deal?"

The boy stared with his piercing blue eyes before nodding his head.

"Deal."

 **NnNnNnNnN**

 **If you're wondering something along the lines of "Why the fuck does he have another story?!" don't worry. This is a rewrite of "When Life Gives You Lemons…" because I didn't like the way I introduced the main character and his backstory, nor do I like the way I worked the bad guys and tried rationalizing it. None of that worked, so I made it like this instead! For those of you that came over from lemons, you'll find out next chapter how I managed to rationalize any of this. For the new readers, welcome! Hit that follow for more!**

 **Hn.**


	2. White Masks

**CHAPTER ONE: WHITE MASKS**

Nao met Captain Hound outside a little ramen shop called Ichiraku at noon. They ate inside, and as promised Hound paid for the meal. After they finished eating, Nao raised an important question.

"Who are you, other than 'I'm anbu' like I always get, and why do you want me?"

"I'll actually be an active jonin in a few months. I'm retiring from Anbu soon… You actually do know me. It's just whether or not you recognize me ."

The boy stared at him for a long time before shrugging and getting off his seat.

As they exited the stand however, Nao had a weird tingling in the back of his head, as if multiple people were watching them.

"Five?" he asked the Anbu captain, getting a shake of the head in response.

"Six, but I'm impressed that you even picked up on them. How did you know they were there?"

Nao took a look around, scanning the street around him, before picking out the sixth man… as well as a seventh.

"Don't lie to me, there are seven. Two on the roof across the street, one in that alley, two in front of that jewelry stand over there, one under that cart, and one petting that stray dog."

Three black shapes blurred across Nao's vision, one seemingly being chased by the other two. He couldn't make out much of it, but he could swear that the one being chased wore a squid mask.

"So, we were being followed. How did you find him?"

"Two ways… the first one I can't explain. For some reason, I've always been able to feel when people are around. It's like I can feel their energy… chakra right? The second one is that, because I've spent so many years running from people, I can always tell when someone is attempting to blend in. They look unnatural, twitchy; I could spot them a mile away."

" _This kid's ridiculous. He's never been to the academy, his parents have been dead since his birth, and yet he can sense this well? The stealth skills I can understand…"_ Hound thought to himself. It was extremely rare to find a kid with this much potential on the streets of Konoha. Almost every kid with chakra was in the academy, so the likelyhood of them being undiscovered was slim to none.

"Alright, kid. Let's get over to HQ and finish your evaluation. You'll get the full rundown after the tour. Sound good?"  
Were it an average ninja or police officer, Nao wouldn't trust their word if his life depended on it. But Anbu? Those guys were top-of-the-pack, no-nonsense killers. If they wanted something from him, they would've already gotten it.

"Okay, I'll check it out at least."

The two made their way to the northern part of town, one block from the Hokage's tower. They were met with a short, widespread building made of grey stone.

"Fancy home you have here, Captain," the young boy commented.

"We like to show off," the adult replied.

The two entered the building and went straight to the elevator.

"An elevator for three floors?"

The masked man just chuckled as he pulled out a set of keys. Sliding one into a small slit in the wall, he turned it and the elevator shot downwards.

"The real headquarters is deep enough that not even the Tsuchikage's earth style can reach it. Not to mention how many seals the Second and Fourth Hokages left down here. It's the most secure place in the entire nation," the Captain said with a small eye smile.

It was only now that Nao noticed one of the Anbu's eyes was always closed.

"So, you've noticed it? You really are quite intelligent for a ten year old," the silver haired Anbu commented, pointing to his eye, "Though it did take you almost an hour to realize… still, you impress me more by the minute."

"You tend to pick up on the little things when you're on the street for six years. Though, I'm sure you already knew that… Hatake Kakashi."

"Hehe… you got me," the tall ninja said, his hand rubbing his gravity-defying silver hair, "Why did you leave the orphanage anyway? You weren't exactly a troublemaker…"

"Yeah, because staying in a place run by corrupt old ladies who abuse a 3 year old is much better than being homeless? You're funny, Captain."

"They abused you?"

"Not me. Uzumaki."

The man paused, looked at Nao strangely for a moment, and then continued down the hall.

"What do you know about Naruto?"

"Annoying as hell, cocky as hell, but also one of the nicest people I've ever met. We used to hide out together before the Hokage gave him that fancy apartment. He offered for me to stay there, too, but I'm not one for mooching."

"Just stealing, right?"

"Nothing wrong with taking from those who are fortunate, as long as it isn't valuable."

The two continued to toss banterous comments back and forth as they made their way deeper into the Anbu headquarters, and eventually they reached a large, black door with the words "Evaluation: Clearance Level 5 and above only."

"Damn, that's a heavy door. I can feel something emanating from the handle… security alarm?"

"Close, it's a shocking seal. Anyone who tries to open this door without the proper clearance gets electrocuted. Want to try it?"

"Haha, funny."

They entered the room and found it to be full of white masks. Some were on ninja, some were hanging on the walls. There were enough masks to cover the entire village, or so it seemed.

"I've already tested your combat skills, as well as your stealth and perception skills. This here will be a test of resolve, intelligence, and quick thinking. Good luck."

He motioned for Nao to take a seat, and pulled a packet out of thin air.

"This packet contains over a hundred different combat scenarios that you would encounter on a standard B-rank mission. You will come up with two plans for each question, and you will be timed. You can have two ten minute breaks at whatever interval you wish. Food and water will be provided."

He handed Nao a pencil and the packet, and the boy sat down.

The first question read:

 _Your target is holding a hostage. The man is a bandit with samurai training, and he has spotted you. His skills lie in brute strength and swordplay, but his intelligence is sub par. On your team you have yourself, a genjutsu specialist, and a lightning style ninjutsu specialist. How do you save the hostage and capture the bandit alive?_

"Uhh… what the hell is genjutsu?"

After a thorough explanation on gen- and ninjutsu, he continued reading the questions and scenarios.

The questions were focused on strategy. They ranged from potential escape plans, attack plans, and reconnaissance plans to diplomatic confrontations, solutions to financial crises, and much more.

As the hours passed, Nao felt his brain turn to mush. He pounded through question after question, page after page, before eventually reaching the halfway point.

He chose to take a break, and tore through the food and water provided. He was allowed five minutes to rest his head, and then he jumped right back in. The questions were challenging, but they were also easy. The solutions just seemed to jump out at him, begging for him to write them on the paper.

Nao chose to skip his second rest break. He didn't want to break his train of thought, and feared if he stopped he would succumb to writer's block.

At the top of the seventh hour, the young Namikaze finished his final question. It was a simple one, but possibly the most important.

 _In the village of Konoha, who is/are the most important person/people?_

 _The Hokage_

 _The Jonin and Chunin_

 _The Civilians_

 _The Children_

He read over the question. He read it again. And again, and a fourth time before closing his eyes to think.

" _The Hokage is the strongest in the village, and he's supposed to protect it, but he isn't the most important because he can take care of himself._

 _The Jonin and Chunin are also important, but there are so many of them and they're strong enough together that no one has to worry about them as a whole._

 _The Civilians… They're responsible for the village's economy, but theoretically without them the ninja could just take higher paying missions and import necessities…_

 _The Children. It has to be the Children. They're the future of Konoha… no,_ we _are the future of Konoha. That makes us the most important._

He circled D, and handed the packet to the anbu in the Cat mask.

"That was fast… depending on how many questions you got correct, you might break the record."

Nao's eyes widened. What had felt like forever had actually been a _fast_ time? "Who has the record?"

"The active duty record is held by Captain Hound over there, while the overall record was held by… Uchiha Itachi, before he left the village."

" _Uchiha Itachi? He was in Anbu?"_

"Now, if you'll just wait a few hours, I have to evaluate your answers."

"I'll check them. Cat, take the kid home."

Nao had failed to mention that he didn't really have a home.

As they moved through the massive underground tunnels, Cat tried to crack the kids shell. Every personal question was met with silence, every joke a blank stare. Every amount of banter was countered by the piercing blue eyes.

"Okay, I give. What's your problem with me? I know this isn't just your attitude, you were fine with Hound, so why won't you talk to me?"  
The boy mumbled something. As high a level ninja as he was, Cat had no trouble hearing him, but to humor the boy he asked, "Sorry, I didn't catch that. What did you say?"  
"I'm not comfortable talking to a mask."

"Hound has a mask."

"Yeah, but I know him underneath the mask. There aren't many silver-haired cyclops in this village ya know."

Cat chuckled and pulled off his mask as the two entered the elevator.

"My name is Tenzo. I've been Kakashi-sempai's Second for almost ten years now. Like him, I have a 100% success rate and a 0% fatality rate in anbu. I'm a man in the Cat mask, not the Cat mask itself."

Nao would never admit it, but he was relieved to see a real face after so many hours of blank masks.

"So, where do you live?" Tenzo, now dressed in his Jounin gear, asked.

"I… don't have a place. Left the orphanage six years ago, haven't gone back."

To his credit, Tenzo didn't look as shocked as he felt. This kid had been on his own since he was 5, and was this intelligent and had this much chakra? He must've had some parents…

"Well, if you want you can stay with me for the night, and tomorrow I'll take you to the barracks to find out how you placed."

Nao's face remained indifferent, but his piercing blue eyes lit up in excitement.

"That'd be great, thanks!"

They walked through town, and Tenzo explained some of the duties of Anbu. He left out the… darker details in favor of the boys sanity. No one needed to know what S rank missions entailed.

"Anyway, our daily jobs aren't always that difficult, but they're things only the skilled can do with success. But, enough of work talk, we're here."

They walked into the apartment, and Nao noticed right away that it was empty. Untouched.

"You sure this is the right place? There's nothing here."

"I usually stay at the Anbu barracks, and eat my food on the go. This apartment is just for show really, so people don't know I'm in anbu."

"Yeah but… does that mean you have no food?"

Tenzo chuckled, turned around, and opened the door for his shadow clone. The clone was carrying two full bags of groceries, and was glaring at Tenzo.

"You know, just because I'm your clone doesn't mean I'm your slave. Get your own damn groceries," the Tenzo clone said before poofing out of existence. Tenzo dove, caught one bag and managed to hit the other one up in the air. Nao caught it, and the two just looked at each other and laughed.

"If you ever learn that Jutsu, know that clones will do anything they can to get back at you."

"Get back at you for what?"

"Making them your short-term slaves."

"Oh."

The two ate dinner and moved into the living room. There was a loveseat, a small table, and a recliner. Tenzo moved the recliner to sit opposite the couch, and pulled a shogi board from under the coffee table.

"I'm going to teach you how to play Shogi. It's a strategy game, and something very popular among the intellectual group of Shinobi."

He taught Nao the rules and played a practice game to let the boy get the hang of it. The rules weren't all that hard, it was the strategy that took Tenzo so long to understand.

They spent all night playing Shogi, and while he never could beat Tenzo, Nao improved dramatically. It wouldn't be unbelievable to think that he could actually _beat_ Tenzo within a few months of playing.

When they woke up the next morning, someone was knocking on the door. Tenzo opened it, and found Hatake Kakashi standing with his green book in hand.

"The results are in, time to find out if you're as good as you think you are," the jonin said with a sarcastic eye-smile.

The two men, and one boy, made their way to the Hokage's office. It was there that the Hokage could accept or deny the enrollment of an Anbu recruit. Nao was brought before the Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and asked a simple question.

"If given a choice, Namikaze Nao, would you rather enter into Anbu immediately or be enrolled in the academy? Anbu will be the quicker route to success, and will make you stronger, but I will not sacrifice your childhood without giving you the option."

" _If I go to the academy, I'll have to deal with people making fun of my eyes again… but, if I go into Anbu that's all anyone will ever see."_

Nao cleared his throat and, clumsily, saluted the Hokage.

"I wish to be enrolled into the academy first, Hokage-sama."

The old man smiled, as did his two finest Captains.

TnTnTnTnT

 **Well, there's chapter one. Sorry it took so long, school has been a nightmare that I'm not sure I'm ready to get out of. I should be writing my last College Writing paper, but instead I'm writing this. I hope you don't hate me for(possibly) discontinuing Lemons.**

 **I have a question(PM or Review with your response, or DM me on Twitter( theAnimeFriend))**

 **Do you guys want me to give a shitty, rushed ending to lemons? Give a quick resolution/beat the baddies like I did with Orochimaru?**

 **Thanks for the reads guys!**

 **Hn.**


	3. Blank Faces

**Long time no see eh?**

 **Sorry about the wait, college happened and I'm not coping well.**

 **On with the shitty fanfic! Also, there's going to be a few paragraphs of time skipping/fast forwarding because I can't be bothered to spend a load of time on basic training stuff.**

 **TtTtTtTtT**

 **Chapter 2: Blank Faces**

"Now, I know I just said you would be enrolled into the academy right away, but I'm afraid that just isn't possible. There are still three months left in the semester, and I can't have you disrupting class at this moment. So… you will be given a private tutor to help you catch up to the children in your age group."

When the Hokage started talking, Nao had a huge smile on his face. At the words 'private tutor' however, the smile dropped.

"A private tutor? What kind of tutor?"

"The best tutor in all of Konoha. A Jonin, one that I entrust with the training of my own grandson, will teach you the way of the Shinobi. Ebisu!"

A tall man wearing a bandana and sunglasses walks in. Kakashi physically stiffened upon seeing him, and patted Nao's shoulder.

"Now Nao, Ebisu here is a Jonin like me. He's very intelligent, and can really… bring out your potential. Good luck!"

Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves, " _How did leaves get in here in the first place?" thought Nao,_ and Ebisu walked in front of Nao.

"Hello, Namikaze-san, I a-"

"Hell no. Don't you dare call me that name. I want no ties to that name."

"Namika-er, Naomasa-san… forgive me. My name is Ebisu, you may call me Sensei, or Sir. I will be your tutor."

Nao looked back at Yamato, and whispered, "Is the stick always that far up his ass?"

Yamato chuckled from beneath his mask, "Hokage-sama, may I make a suggestion?"

The old man smirked, and waved for Yamato to proceed.

"Let me train him."

"Hokage-sama I must insist that I-"

"I will accept your request on one condition. You will train him not as a friend or as a Jonin, but as an Anbu. You will treat him with all the harshness you would treat any recruit."

"Yes, Hokage-sama. That was the plan."

" _I can't see his face, but somehow I can still picture the scary grin…"_

"Okay there blondie, this will be your mask. As you are just a trainee and not a real Anbu yet, you get a grey mask. You can have a wolf, bear, pig, or squirrel mask. Take your pick…"

Nao reached for the wolf mask, and went to place it on his face. It fell to the floor, and Cat laughed.

"Right, forgot about that. I've been wearing the masks so long, it's become second nature for me. You need to use chakra to hold it to your face."

Seeing he would receive no further advice, Nao tried again. This time, he lifted the mask to his face and held it there. He slowed his breath, and tried to feel for the chakra.

"There's nothing. I can't feel my chakra. Is that normal?"

"It isn't that you can't feel it, it just hasn't quite been... 'activated' so to speak. Once you 'unlock' your chakra, you should be able to feel it whenever you please."

Cat reached a hand out, and placed it on Nao's head. Nao's breath caught in his chest as he felt a significant jump in his energy levels. Moments ago he had felt a little drowsy, not being used to so many exciting events. Now however he felt like he could run ten miles without stopping.

"Feel it now?"

Nao's response was lifting the mask back to his face. He felt his chakra, and imagined it was like a glue that stuck to the mask. He removed his hand and, for a moment, the mask stuck. Almost immediately after, the mask shot off his face and into Cat's waiting hand.

"Nice catch."

"You're not the first person I've taught this particular technique to. You've got the hang of it, faster than anyone I've ever seen, but you're still missing the biggest component. Restraint."

"Restraint? What… what does restraint mean?" he said, chuckling embarrassedly.

"Right. You never went to school… Restraint is the ability to hold back. Sometimes with chakra, you feel like you can conquer the world. With restraint you can truly control your chakra, and without it you're bound to overdo it and hurt yourself."

Nao nodded, and tried again. He spent the rest of the day sitting there, sticking a wooden mask to his face.

 **ONE MONTH LATER**

"Now, Nao, you've made a ton of progress. You're reading and writing is at a high enough level to not cause concern. Your chakra control is near the point where you can keep the mask on your face without thinking about it. We've got two more months, and I'm going to give you a choice. Learn taijutsu, which is hand to hand fighting, or you can start learning basic ninjutsu. Whichever one you don't pick, will be the one you do in the final month of your training."

Nao didn't even need a second to think.

"It would be smarter if I started on Taijutsu, no? Then I'll have two months to work on the fighting, and by that point I'll have done enough chakra control exercises to do the ninjutsu stuff easier right?"

Cat nodded, and under the mask he was smiling. " _The kid's smart. He might not have much in the way of book smarts, but he knows his way around nonetheless."_

He began showing him the bare basics of taijutsu. How to punch, how to kick, and the proper way to set your feet. Throughout the next two weeks, Cat would show Nao how to do all the movements of the academy's taijutsu style, Kihonken **(basic fist).** The next two weeks were spent on combinations and how to fight while moving. Throughout this, Nao had learned to keep the mask on his head as well as resting on his hip when not in use. This growth seemed to be astronomical for someone of Nao's age and background, but Cat had his suspicions.

" _His last name is Namikaze. His hair is blond, not quite like the fourth's but not dissimilar either. He has to be of some relation, even an idiot could see it."_

 **(A/N. Forewarning, do not just assume that this is going to be a 'naruto's brother/cousin/family fic. Do not even assume that he is actually related. Anything can change *wink wink nudge nudge*)**

At the start of the third month, Nao began his jutsu training by staring into a mirror.

"I'm sure you know what you look like, but to create a truly perfect clone you need to understand exactly what you look like. It might be easier if you clone yourself while wearing the mask, as you'll have less detail to work with."  
Slowly, very slowly, Nao made the proper hand seals. He flared his chakra in the way he was taught, and a poof of smoke enveloped him and the place next to him.

"Hey, you look familiar!"

He did it! He made a clone! Him and his body double went to high five, but the clone evaporated on contact.

"The clone jutsu is a very useful distraction, but any decent ninja can tell the difference between a simple clone and a real person. Don't rely on them too heavily."

" _I didn't even think of using them to fight! I just wanted some help with my inevitable homework…"_

He continued to teach Nao the basics of the clone jutsu. How to make multiple, how to mask your presence to appear as if you're a clone yourself, and how to use them tactically.

After a week, Nao was able to create ten clones and could effectively coordinate himself so that he could hide within their ranks without being noticed. His mornings were spent on ninjutsu training, his day spent on taijutsu and speed training, and his nights were spent reading up on all the history he had missed.

Two weeks before he was to be entered into the academy, Cat met with the third Hokage.

"How is his progress coming along, Tenzo?"

"It's… It's amazing honestly. He's mastered the clone jutsu, he's able to pull off a rough substitution, and his grasp on taijutsu is unlike anything I've seen. In three months he's gone from an average civilian to a potential candidate for rookie of the year."

"Well, it seems I made the correct decision in allowing you to teach him. What are his thoughts on all of this? How is he faring mentally, with all the physical strain you are putting him through?"

Tenzo sat down and put his head in his hands, "It's… not great. He gets frustrated when he can't do something. He thinks that because everything has come so naturally to him, that he must be miles behind his age group. I tried telling him, but he refuses to believe that his future classmates are going to be at his level."

The Hokage hummed in understanding, and replied with "Well, that can't be helped. Until he is able to test himself against his other classmates, he'll simply believe he's inferior."

"Yes, Hokage-sama. Beyond that, he seems to be fine, but he's very stressed. I'm afraid that, when he gets to the Academy, he's going to give up before he even begins…"

 **Two weeks later…**

"Hello class, and welcome to your final semester here at the Academy. As you all know, I should hope anyway, I am Umino Iruka, and I am your sensei. We have a new student here, a boy of your age group who's never been to the Academy. Nao? Can you come down?"

The young blond made his way to the front of the class, and stood next to Iruka.

"Uhh.. Hi, I'm Nao. I'm 12 years old…" he faltered, not really knowing what else to say.

"What's your dream for the future?"  
"Oh, that's easy!" he yelled, before remembering what Tenzo had told him that morning.

 _Slightly useless flashback…_

" _Now, Nao, I must stress this to you. You can_ not _tell anyone of your involvement with the Anbu. We're a bit of a secret, our identities and such. So you can't tell, got it?"_

 _Return to present time(told you it was useless)_

"I uh… want to be an elite Jonin. Yeah, that's it!"

His real dream was, after meeting Kakashi, to be an Anbu captain. He couldn't exactly tell anyone that, so he settled for Jonin.

"That's a big dream. I wish you luck!"

"WAAAAAIT SENSEI! DON'T CALL ROLL YET, I'M HEEEEERE!"

A boy with blond hair and bright eyes ran into the room. Short, dressed in an ugly orange jumpsuit, and wearing weird green goggles around his neck, Naruto Uzumaki arrived late to the first day of school.

"Naruto! What did I tell you about being late?"

"Sorry, Iruka-sens… Nao?"

Nao chuckled and shot out a hand, "Guess who's in your class now! I bet you're top of the class, you've been in here so long!" Nao said, but got nothing but laughter from the class.

"Naruto? Top of the class? The only thing he's top in is stupidity!" a boy wearing a large hoody joked from the back. A small dog yipped from inside the sweatshirt.

"You're one to talk Kiba! You're grades are only a few points higher than mine, dumbass!"

Naruto and Kiba began to bicker back and forth, while Nao turned to Iruka.

"Why is everyone laughing? Is Naruto really that bad?"

"Well… he's bottom of his class in almost every category. History, Maths, Writing, shuriken and kunai throwing, all the bottom. He's above average in taijutsu, and takes top marks in stealth, but his abysmal ninjutsu evens that out."

Nao sunk his head. " _Way to go moron, you just showed up and praised the biggest idiot in the whole academy! Everyone's going to laugh at you now…"_

"Okay class, quiet down and take your seats! We're gonna take roll, and then we'll start with taijutsu training alright?"

A few minutes later, the class made their way outside and circled around their sensei.

"Okay, so I can get a gauge on where he falls in the rankings, we're going to have Nao spar first. You'll be fighting against…"  
"Me," a voice from the back said.

A boy with long dark hair stepped forward into the circle. He had a bored expression on his face, but his eyes showed something different.

"Sasuke? This is a first, you never volunteer… Alright, Uchiha Sasuke vs Namikaze Nao. Go ahead when you're ready!"  
The two squared off in different stances. Sasuke had his legs spread wide, and his knees bent. His arms were crossed in front of him, and he looked ready to defend anything. Nao however was in a very simple stance. Arms up, legs shoulder width apart and bent ever so slightly. One leg was about eight inches ahead of the other, and his face was a blank mask.

Between the two boys, a leaf was falling from a branch overhead. The moment it hit the ground, both boys sprang into action. Sasuke sprang forward, breaking the illusion that he planned to defend. Nao spun into a kick, catch Sasuke's forearms as he blocked the hit. With one hand, Sasuke reached out and grabbed Nao's leg before it could retract, and with the other he swung a strong punch forward.

Nao spun in Sasuke's grip, bringing his other foot up towards Sasuke's head. Releasing the leg he held captive, Sasuke leaned back out of the hit. Nao had planted both hands on the ground, to hold him up while he kicked, and proceed to push himself up into the air.

He did a backflip, bringing it into a kick, which he dropped straight onto the waiting boys head. Sasuke took the hit hard, and began forming hand seals.

"That's enough! The fight is over, I've seen enough. It's a draw."

Really, in Iruka's eyes, Nao had won. But declaring Sasuke the loser would cause more headaches then he could imagine from the fangirls present.

"What?! That's crap Iruka-sensei! Nao clearly won that fight!" Naruto yelled. Some of the other boys, like Kiba and Choji, were nodding their heads in agreement.

It wasn't that the boys didn't like Sasuke, they just hated that he got all the attention because of his name. Seeing some new guy beat up on the academy's golden boy was a breath of fresh air for them.

Before he could respond however, the girls had already begun screaming at Naruto how he was an idiot and how "clearly Sasuke had been holding back on him."

Nao didn't disagree, it seemed like Sasuke hadn't been taking him that seriously. But, if he weren't going to take him seriously, why would Sasuke challenge him like that?  
"Sasuke, Nao. You two stay out here. The rest of you are to go inside and get your kunai sets. You have five minutes"

After everyone else left…

"Sasuke, what was that?"

"I… lost control, sensei. It won't happen again."

Iruka glared at the boy, before turning to Nao, "And you. Where did you learn to fight like that? You've never been to the academy, yet you've perfected our style already?"

"A… A guy I know taught me how to fight. I'm an orphan, lived on the streets for a few years, and he was one of the people who helped take care of me. Old, retired ninja I guess."

He really should have asked for a better excuse from Tenzo, this one had a lot of holes.

"I've been a ninja for a while. What is his name?"

" _Shit. Shit. SHIT."_

"Uhh, Jake? Son of the owner of the State Cherry Farm?"

"Ah, old Ken State had a son eh? I used to have to do missions for him as a genin. Never knew his son was a ninja though, what rank?"

"I don't know, he wore a vest like yours…"

Iruka took that as enough, and turned back to Sasuke.

"You know the rules, no jutsu in spars. You could have seriously injured him out of your blind anger."

"Yes sensei," he said, turning to Nao, "I didn't mean to try and hurt you. It won't happen again."

As the boy went inside to get his Kunai, Nao thought " _Well, it's not an apology but it's something."_

"Damn Nao, you really kicked the teme's ass!" Naruto said as he ran out of the building, "Where'd you learn to fight like that?"  
"It's the same style that you should know, mine's just better…" he said. Nao was never good at lying to Naruto, the kid always managed to see through him. So instead, he avoided the question.

"Awesome! That means I could beat the Teme too, right?"

"Uhh… yeeees?"

"I'M GONNA KICK THAT TEME'S ASS, DATTEBAYOOOOOO"  
Nao shook his head, his hands pressed firmly against his ears. " _It doesn't work! His scream still gets through!"_

While Naruto was busy yelling, Nao went inside to grab his kunai set. Waiting for him in the room was Sasuke, and he didn't look happy.

"How did you do that?"

"Heh? Do what, fight?"

"How did you, some orphan from who knows where, best an Uchiha on your first try? You must have cheated…"

"Look here, I'll admit that I probably got lucky. You took me on lightly, why I don't know, but I swear I didn't cheat."

The raven-haired boy shook his head.

"I've never lost, so I guess that was an eye-opener for me…" he said to Nao, before mumbling to himself, "how am I ever supposed to beat him in this state… Hey, Nao."

The blond was digging in his desk, hunting for his Kunai set. He smacked his head hard off the desk when he tried to stand up.

"Agh, what is it?"

"Teach me. Show me how to fight like that."

The blonde cocked his head in confusion, "But… shouldn't you already know this style of fighting? It is the academy style, or so I'm told…"

"The 'kihonken' is a load of crap. It's just basic punches and kicks, little 1-1-2 punch combos. What you did was took the basics and made it unpredictable as hell. Half the things you did I've never seen, and the others were so random that even if I had predicted them I still don't think I could stop them."

" _Well damn, Cat, you must have taught me well…"_

"I guess we could have a few sessions, if you want. I don't mind!" he said because, hell, what did he have to lose?

Or so he thought, but when he told Naruto about his new training pal, he was met with screams.

"You're gonna help HIM and not ME? I thought we were friends!"

"We are Uzu! You just didn't ask me for help, and he did! Besides, why does it matter if I help him?"

"Because he's….he's…. He's Sasuke-teme!"

"Do you not like him or something? He seems alright to me…"

"He's always picking on me! The little comments and the rude names, I hate him dattebayo!"

Nao shrugged, and poked Naruto on the forehead, "I know you Uzu, I've known you for a long time. Did you mess with him first, and he retaliated?"  
"...I might have tried to fight him a couple times, yeah."

"How about instead you, oh I don't know, try talking to him? Like a normal person?"

"Talk? To the Teme? You're just as funny as I remember Nao! Always speaking crazy stuff like 'Maybe you shouldn't antagonize the police' or 'it's wrong to steal people's ramen'!"

"Uzu. Those weren't jokes, and I'm not kidding. Talking to people is the only safe way to resolve your issues. Not fighting."

"Fine, I'll talk to him! But I won't enjoy it, 'ttebayo!"

Later that day, Nao met Sasuke outside of a large, walled in area.

"Jeez man, where did you drag me to? Is this trespassing? Because I can't get caught again…"

"This is the Uchiha compound. Former home to the strongest clan in existence, as well as some of the best training grounds in the land of fire."  
"Uchiha? That's those guys who got… oh, right. You're the last Uchiha, aren't you?"  
"Hn."

Sasuke said no more, and led Nao into the compound. It was full of houses, dozens of them, and many of them shared a common theme. Burnt, crumbling walls. Collapsed roofs. Burn marks all over the ground, slash marks in the houses. It didn't look like a family compound, it looked like a warzone.

"The taijutsu grounds are in the back, follow me if you can."

The boy took off at full speed through the streets, with Nao hot on his tail. Sasuke assumed that, because he had only been in the Academy for a day, Nao wouldn't have the speed to keep up with him.

"Huh, you're pretty fast too," Sasuke told him when they arrived at the grounds. Large wooden mannequins stood up around the field, as well as various strength building contraptions. Sasuke walked to the center, turned, and dropped into the academy stance.

"Let's start with a simple spar. Slow motion, fifty percent at best. I want to understand your movements."

And so the two went at it, Sasuke would throw a punch and Nao would tell him what movements he would make and why he would make them. Eventually, he got to a point where Nao was on his back with Sasuke axe-kicking his chest.

"Now what would you do, in this situation? You're flat on your back, your arms are up so you can't push yourself in any direction, is there really anything you can do?"

Nao grinned. He kicked his leg up into the back of Sasuke's knee. It buckled, he fell backward, and Nao jumped up and put his hand on Sasuke's neck, signifying that he won.

"Tch. Should've known…" Sasuke said as he tried to stand. His knee buckled again, and he fell to the ground.

"Here, come on man, let's get you to the hospital. They'll heal you up real quick."  
Nao lifted the Uchiha up and put his arm over his shoulder. He helped Sasuke to the hospital, and after setting him down in a chair he walked up to the desk.

"Hi, I need to check in my friend? His knee is messed up, maybe dislocated?"

"Of course! Your friend's name? And how was he injured?"  
"Uchiha Sasuke! We were sparring and.."

"WHAT?! You hurt the last Uchiha?! That boy has no family, and he's practically royalty and you just decided to beat him up? Get out of here before I call the police!"  
"Wha-okay! You're crazy, dragon lady!" he said, because the lady was large, ugly, and hissed like some nasty sort of reptile. Because snakes were thin and sneaky, he opted for a dragon.

 **(I stole that name from my all time favorite Fic, Acceptance by Uzumakisunspydr)**

"Hey Sasu, I gotta go. The nurse thinks I hurt you on purpose! I'll come back tomorrow if I can, sorry!"

On the way back to his new apartment, graciously gifted to him by the Hokage, Nao ran into Naruto.

"Hey Uzu! What's up man!"

"Iruka-sensei promised to buy me ramen if I can make one clone by tomorrow! I gotta go train!"

"Cool! Mind if I come with you?"

The two went to Naruto's apartment, and immediately Naruto began to try the jutsu. Horrible, deformed clones kept popping up, looking sick and useless.  
"Bro, slow down! You've got to think, you can't just keep spamming them until it works! Take a look at this one, what's wrong with it?"  
"It looks dead, it can barely stand, and it's pale."

"Okay, pale. Work on that first. When you do the jutsu, focus your chakra into making the skin color correct."

He nodded, and spammed a few more clones out. Three of them were pale like before, but the fourth had a hint of tan skin.

"Sweet! I did it! Now what!"  
"Well, keep fixing the appearance. We can worry about how it moves later, right?"  
And so he did. The eyes were grey, he made them blue. The hair was a pale yellow, he made it gold. The ears were not even existing, so he fixed them.

"Alright! They look like me now! So… how do I make them move?"  
"Normally, they should move when you tell them to, or even by your thoughts… maybe you don't have the control for that?"

"Control? I've got plenty of control, 'ttebayo!"

Nao facepalmed.

"Dude. Chakra control. You've got none, I can tell by the way you have to focus your chakra before you even make one clone.

Hey… don't tell anyone I taught you this okay? It was shown to me, and I think it can work for you too…"

He walked over to the window sill. Though the boy's home was trashed, he did seem to keep his plants well cared for. Nao plucked a leaf off one of the flowers and handed it to Naruto.

"Here. Focus on sticking this leaf to your head with chakra. Once you get that, you should probably be able to make a clone!"

Naruto stuck the leaf to his forehead with his thumb and focused his chakra. He removed his hand, and the leaf immediately flew off and impaled, yes impaled, itself into the wall.

"Damn dude, you have a ton of chakra! You're gonna have to tone it down Uzu, else you'll never get that clone down!"

Nao left him to his training, and went to his own apartment. It was only two streets down from Naruto's, which was convenient for when he wanted to see his friend.

"You, why were you in there?"

"Heh? That's my friends house, who are you and why do you care?"  
"It's not safe kid, he's not safe. He'll turn on you and kill you before you get the chance to blink. Don't trust a… _monster_ like him."

"Uzu? A monster? He's one of the nicest guys I know! He's always been treated like shit, and he's never done anything wrong!"

"That… _**boy…**_ killed my wife! My kids! Don't you tell me he's nice! Don't you tell me he's normal! He is the kyu-agh!"

The man dropped, and a black blur appeared in front of him. A dog mask faced Nao, and from the mask came a voice.

"Now, kid, don't listen to this big bad man. Your opinions are your opinions. If he doesn't want to like someone, that's his choice. Don't make his mistake, and be misguided by something he heard at the bar. "

"What do you mean? He called Uzu a monster! Is he stupid? The only ' _monsters'_ are the ladies at the orphanage that abused him! The only ' _monsters'_ are the assholes at the stores who wouldn't let him buy anything, or overcharged him for no reason! They're the monsters!"

" _Shit, he's got the right idea but he's not thinking about it the right way."_

"Now, Nao, just head home. I'll send someone over in a minute to talk to you, okay?"

When Nao got into his apartment, Kakashi was sitting at his kitchen table.  
"No more Dog mask, eh?"

"I know how much you hate them, I figured it's probably better if I forego the thing altogether."  
Nao nodded, "So, what do you want?"

"You like Naruto, right? He's your friend?"  
"Duh. Uzu and I go way back, of course he's my friend! I just spent the past half hour teaching him how to make a clone!"  
Kakashi smiled, or at least that's what Nao assumed he was doing, due to that stupid mask.

"Good. I'm not sure if you know this, but you're kind of his only friend, and even then you haven't really talked to him much in years. He's got a couple acquaintances at the academy who get along with him, but that's about it…"  
Oh. Well, needless to say, Nao was shocked. First he finds out that Naruto is the dead last, and now he learns that he's got no friends either?

"What do you want me to do about it?"

"Help him. One of his problems is, because of how he's treated and how people look at him, Naruto tends to be loud and obnoxious to gain attention. That's also why he started to wear the bright orange, or so we think…"  
Nao nodded, and Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"He has got to show me that some day…"

 **NnNnNnNnN**

 **Eh. It's not a bad chapter, but as you can tell I'm still a little rusty at this whole "third person" thing. It'd probably be better if I did this in first person, in terms of writing style, but I also feel like third person(omniscient?) is the only way to truly tell this story.**

 **I haven't decided on teams yet, so I'm wondering this. What do you guys think about me completely switching around teams? Maybe Nao's inclusion kicks someone else back a year/doesn't graduate?**

 **Here's what I'm thinking for teams so far, leave a review/pm telling me what you think.**

 _ **Team 7 - Hatake Kakashi**_

 _ **Namikaze Naomasa, Uchiha Sasuke, and Haruno Sakura**_

 _ **Team 8 - Sarutobi Asuma**_

 _ **Uzumaki Naruto, Nara Shikamaru, and Hyuuga Hinata**_

 _ **Team 10 - Yamato(Tenzo)**_

 _ **Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Yamanaka Ino**_

 _ **Choji… I don't even know what to do with him. I honestly just find him irrelevant…**_

 _ **Halp me!**_


	4. Friends, Enemies and Something Inbetween

**Hello world! Hopefully I can get this chapter out quick, I want to start getting this story rolling so that people will actually read it.**

 **If you did make it this far, thank you! I know I'm not a great writer, but hopefully my story idea intrigues you enough…**

 **So a loyal follower of this three-chapter-long fic pointed out that, well, my idea for team changing sucked… And they are correct. But, for purposes of plot, I need to find a way to get Nao onto Team 7, without making it a four man team and without changing everything around too much… Help in the reviews/pms would be appreciated!**

 **Also, you guys will notice that, throughout my writing of this story, I will ask for help a lot. I have a basic idea of how I want the story to work, but beyond that I'm pretty much screwed. The way I write, I just kind of flow. I don't think it out, I just type and type and type until I feel like I'm at a good stopping point. Half the time I don't even reread what I wrote. So, if I mess anything up, please forgive/help me out!**

 **On with the chapter!**

 **There's a lot of dialogue in the second half of the chapter, be prepared for hella explaining.**

 **NnNnNnNnN**

 **Chapter 3: Friends, Enemies, and Something Inbetween**

"So, Nao, how was your first week in the Academy?"

Naomasa was in the Hokage's office with Cat and Hound, giving a followup report on his time in the Academy.

"Well, the non-ninja classes are boring and easy. The fighting classes are fun, but I'm really bad at throwing weapons," he said with a laugh, "other than that though, it's going well. People keep telling me that I'm 'almost as good as Sasuke', even though I beat him in spars every night."

"Oh? You train with Sasuke-kun?" the old man asked, exhaling smoke from his pipe as he talked.

"Yeah! After school I go over Naruto's and help him with his clone jutsu, and then I go to Sasuke's compound for Taijutsu training! He might even beat me soon, the guy learns quick!"  
"And… as a person, what's he like?"  
"Boring, moody, and hates losing. Every time I win he gets worse and worse. I'm afraid he's going to snap. He doesn't even seem to see how much better he's been getting… by the end of the week, I'm pretty sure he'll be able to beat me almost every time."

Hiruzen hummed to himself, and turned to look out the window.  
"Hound. I believe that your time in Anbu will not be cut as short as I thought… Cat will be taking your place, and you will be handing your Captain's robes to agent Crane. You have two months of leave, and then I expect you back here for your orders."

Hound left in his usual fashion, leaves going everywhere, and the Hokage's head shook in annoyance.

"If he weren't so damn good at his job, I'd punish him for always leaving these damn leaves in my office."

Everyone laughed, and Hiruzen held up his hand in a half-sign before all the leaves were engulfed in a tiny tornado.

"See, Nao, the way of the ninja is not always about being the strongest or the smartest. It isn't even about being the best. Doing your best is what's most important. Hound puts his all into missions, and makes sure that his team always makes it back home. It's because of his determination to do his best, that he _is_ the best."

"He's the best, Hokage-sama?"

The hokage chuckled, "Between the three of us, I think he's got the potential to be the Hokage one day. If he were a bit more sociable, and focused more on training and less on reading that damn book, he'd be a clear cut candidate.

Now, Nao, I ask you to leave us. I need to speak to Cat for one moment…"

The boy left, leaving the Anbu and the Hokage alone.

"Even though there are still a few months remaining in class, I already have the genin teams picked out from this class. Before Nao's inclusion, I had a team set for Kakashi right here," he said, handing Cat a folder, "I feel that Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura would have made a good team with strong balance. However, now that Nao has been thrown into the mix, I've got a new idea. There is another boy in this village who I want to put into the genin pool…"

 _Three weeks later…_

"Okay, everyone, this concludes the first month of your final semester in this Academy! Today, we have another new student. I'd like for you all to meet Sai!" Iruka-sensei announced.

A pale boy wearing black cutoff pants, a black sweatshirt, and ninja sandals.

"Uh… Hello everyone. I am Sai. I like to paint."

The boy wore a creepy smile, obviously forced, but most of the kids didn't notice it. Shikamaru did, but he didn't really care. Sasuke did, with the same response as Shikamaru. Nao noticed it, and began wondering what the kids deal was if he had to fake a smile on the first day of class.

Naruto however recognized it, it was the same smile he'd been wearing for the majority of his life. False happiness, acting like everything was fine when it really wasn't.

"There's a seat in the back next to Naruto, the blonde boy right there. Please take your seat and we'll get started!"

"Hello Naruto, My name is Sai. It's very nice to meet you!"

"Uh, yeah. Same here. Tell me, what's up with the smile?"

The boy frowned, before quickly putting the smile back on, "What do you mean? I'm happy to be here with people my own age."

"Uh huh, sure. The smile's fake, something's wrong and you don't want anyone to know so you're hiding it. Believe me, I know what it's like."

Sai chose that moment to ignore Naruto, turning his attention to the front board.

"Alright, not like I cared anyway, 'ttebayo."

"Okay guys, we're going to work on the henge today! Everyone will step up here and show off your best henge, but I want you to henge into the person you admire most!"

As they went down, the ninja-in-training all emulated their idols. Many, like the children of the InoShikaCho trio, turned into their parents. Some, like Naruto, turned into the Hokage. A few of the fangirls turned into Sasuke, and even one boy.

Sasuke turned into a tall man with a long ponytail, and lines etched into his face. He only changed for a moment, before transforming into an even taller man wearing a Konoha jounin uniform.

Nao turned into a cat-masked Anbu black ops, which got a nod from Iruka.

Sai turned into another boy around the same age as him, with silver hair and a similar outfit to Sai.

Hinata's transformation was so quick that only three students, Nao Sasuke and Sai, even caught it. She transformed into Naruto, before turning into a woman who looked exactly like herself but older.

Iruka chuckled and thought, " _Ahh, young love. If only Naruto had seen that."_

The bell rang for lunch, and the kids all ran out of the room.

Over the first month of class, Nao had managed to get his two friends to train together. Eventually, he even convinced them to eat lunch together. Naruto, Sasuke, and Nao were an odd trio, but they stuck together anyway.

"Hey, do you guys think we should invite Sai to eat with us? He seems okay."

Nao and Sasuke shrugged, and Naruto ran off to grab the boy.

"You saw his smile too right? It's the same as Naruto's, hell it might even be more forced."  
"Hn."

"You could at least pretend to care sometimes…"

Naruto returned, dragging Sai by the arm.

"I don't want to intrude, you don't have to do this! I'm fine by myself!"

"No one should have to eat alone, dattebayo!"

Sai gave in, and sat down near the other boys.

"Hello…"  
"Hey, Sai. How's it goin?"

"Good. School is so much fun!" he said with that same, fake smile.

"Tch. This place is for losers, I should be out of here already."

"Everyone bow down to king Uchiha over there, he's sooo great!"

"I assume you are the first in our class then, Sasuke-san?"

"Hn," he nodded.

"He doesn't like to talk. He's too _cooool_ for that."  
"So, if you are first in your class, would you like to spar? I'd like to see where I measure up!"  
That same creepy smile accompanied the request, and Sasuke was eager to wipe it off his face.

"Let's go."

The two squared off, with Sai standing straight up and down with one hand raised. Sasuke was in his usual stance, low to the ground and prepared to counter any attack.

"Sasuke vs Sai begins now. FIGHT!" Naruto yelled, purely for dramatic effect.

Sai stepped forward and threw one punch. Sasuke moved to block it perfectly, but in one second he was on the ground.

"I win, I suppose…"

"Wh… What the hell just happened?"

"That guy's so strong! He took out Sasuke-kun in one punch!"

"There's no way an academy student could do that! Maybe he's already a ninja!"  
Sasuke just stared in disbelief. Sai held out a hand to help him up, but Sasuke didn't move.

"I saw you. I saw your punch, it was coming straight at me. I should have blocked it perfectly, how did you do that?"

He didn't even notice the tiny splotch of ink on his shirt…

"Naruto, you are never allowed to bring new friends to lunch."

"Ehh? He seemed alright to me, teme! You're just mad that you lost!"

"Wrong. He cheated, and I want to find out how."  
"Sasuke's right, Uzu. The kid's fist never connected. I don't know what he used to hit Sasuke, but it wasn't taijutsu."

The orange-clad blonde laughed, "Yeah, and pigs can fly. Maybe he was just too fast for you to follow!"

The two sensible boys looked at each other and nodded, both understanding what they needed to do.

"Hey, I've got some report I have to go do, Iruka-sensei said it was something from before I joined the Academy, and it's required for graduation."

"Yeah, I've got to… go… clothes shopping…"

Nao sighed, " _For being such an emotionless, boring guy, you sure suck at lying Sasuke. Even Naruto could never buy that stu-"  
_ "Damn, sounds boring man! I'll see you two tomorrow I guess!"

The boy trotted away in his usual fashion, hands behind his head and a goofy grin on his face.

"Okay, so how are we going to do this? Do we just follow him home or should we try to like predict where he's going to go and cut him off or what?"

"Wow, that's the most you've ever talked. You're going too far dude, too quick. Follow me."

The two boys went to Nao's apartment and, after an impressive feat of stacking garbage cans on top of each other, climbed onto the roof.

"Stay low, your eyes should be the only thing over the lip of the roof. Look at that apartment building across the street."

Lo and behold, Sai stepped out of the last apartment in the line about twenty minutes later. He had a large bag strapped to his back, and was moving quickly in the direction of the Hokage monument.

"Let's go, before he get's out of sight."

The two boys slid down the roof and onto the ground. They began tailing Sai from a distance, stopping at a food stand along the way when Sai turned back and stared at them.

"Do you think he saw us?"

"Probably, but if we just grab the food and stay here for a while, we won't look suspicious."  
The two ordered themselves a stick of dango each.

"Is he still there? Do you think we're good?"  
"Is who still where?" a voice said from behind the two stalkers.

"Oh! Uh… hey Sai! We're just uh, kind of avoiding Naruto for the day."

"Yeah, he's being really uh, really annoying!"  
"So annoying!"

"The annoyingest!"

"Oh… because it seemed as though you were both following me, and only stopped when I turned and saw you. I also saw you on the roof across the street when I exited my apartment. Coincidence?"

"Well, we had just climbed out the window and hopped on to the roof because Naruto was at my front door knocking. We had to escape!"

"Ah… well, what are you going to do now?"

"He's over at my family's compound training I think, so really we can do anything. What are you doing today?"

" _Nice! That's perfect!"_

"I was on my way to the Hokage Monument. I like to go up there and paint the sunset."

"Oh! That sounds cool, mind if we come? After the last time that he painted the monument pink, Uzu isn't allowed up there so it's the perfect place to hide."

"You may come if you please. I have a question about you though?"  
"Yeah, what is it?"

"Are you two gay for each other?"  
The two looked at each other, and looked at Sai, then back at eachother.

"Dude, gross."

"I've got nothing against guys dating, but I'm not into that…"  
"Oh. Okay." Sai said as he turned to walk away.

"So, what do you paint?"

"Anything, but I like nature. It's very calming, and helps my art."

"What do you mean it 'helps your art,' isn't painting your art?"

Sai chuckled and gave Nao another one of those creepy smiles, "I suppose you could say that, yes."

Sai kept walking, leaving the two boys confused and staring at his back.

"He's weird. A little creepy. I don't like it."

"Hn," Sasuke said, too shaken for words.

They looked up and realized Sai had disappeared, and took off after him.

They got to the top of the mountain and saw Sai crouched behind a large tree.

"Hey, wha-hmph" Nao started, before a black snake wrapped itself around his mouth.

"I need you both to be very, very quiet. Something bad is happening. Take cover."

The snakes released the two boys, and they ran behind a large hedge.

Peering over the top of the hedge, the two saw Sai standing in a clearing across from a man with his head wrapped in bandages and holding a cane.

"Sai, you've betrayed me. Did you really think I would let you get away with it?"

"You forced me to fight my own brother to the death, Danzo-sama. How could I let you get away with killing Shin?"

"Ah, but I didn't. You killed him."

Sai mumbled something under his breath, and multiple black animals dove from the trees and attacked Danzo.

The old man disappeared in smoke, and three men in blank white masks attacked Sai. They weren't traditional anbu masks, they weren't shaped like animals and they didn't have any paint on them like normal.

The three men struck Sai, and he disappeared in a splash of black liquid.

"Ink. That's what he hit me with, he can animate ink!"

"Come on, we've got to run. They're after me, and they're sure to have already killed the ninja patrolling this area." Sai said from behind them, pulling on their shirts.

The three boys took off down the road, with Sai making ink clone after ink clone to try and slow the larger ninja down.

"If you make it out and I don't, tell the Hokage that it was Root who killed me, and that Danzo used a shadow clone to provoke me. The three agents names were Yamamoto, Toka, and Rinji."

Nao nodded, and they upped their pace. They were halfway down the mountain when the first ninja caught up to them. The other two had been caught up by the ink clones, and were temporarily immobilized, but the third and largest was standing in their path.

A ninjato appeared in Sai's hands, as well as the enemy ninja's.

"Go. I'll distract him."

"Nope. You need our help."  
"Yeah, we aren't leaving you now!"

Sai slid into his stance, "Fine. Long range cover only. Do not engage in close range."

He shot forward, swinging his sword in an upward motion, intending on slicing the attacker in half. The enemy anbu deflected Sai's sword with the flat of his blade, and struck Sai's head with the sword.

Sai stumbled, and to cover him Nao started throwing the few shuriken he had on him. Not expecting the boy to be armed, the anbu was struck by two before dodging the rest. However, Sasuke predicted the dodge and a small fireball met the dark Anbu agent, covering him in smoke and flame.

Sai recovered, and quickly pulled out a small scroll and a paintbrush. Two seconds later, and a fully grown tiger flew from the paper and struck the anbu in the chest just as he emerged from the smoke.

"Quickly now, Nao and Sasuke, we must run!"

The three tore down the mountain like bats shot out from hell. The tiger was playing keepaway with the enemy, dodging just out of reach and keeping him distracted.

Near the bottom of the hill, the boys saw Naruto standing there with an angry look on his face.

"You guys ditched me to hang out with the new guy, huh! You told me you didn't like him, it was just a lie!"

"Not now Uzu, we have to get into the town!"

Naruto looked at him in anger before glancing behind his friends. His eyes widened, and he jumped forward.  
"DUCK!"  
Sasuke grabbed Nao, pulling him to the ground. Both boys turned their heads to see their friend get struck with at least a dozen small needles.

"Idiot! Why would you do that!"

Naruto chuckled, falling to his knees, "I guess my body just moved on its own…"

He fell to the ground, and a different anbu stepped out from the trees.

"A traitor, an orphan, a demon, and a boy who should have died with his family. Seems that I get to kill multiple piece of shit kids today…"  
It was obviously a girl, the shape of the body and voice gave it away. The woman held four metal needles, senbon, in each hand.

"Toka, these three have done nothing to you! They know nothing! Leave them be."

Sai stepped protectively in front of the three academy students, his sword still drawn. Nao was down on one knee, tears streaming down his face as he stared at the dead body of his first friend. Sasuke… Sasuke was also staring at Naruto's body, but with a different expression.

His head slowly began to raise, leveling itself at Toka, his blood red eyes filled with a fury that none other than the Uchiha could ever match.  
"You're dead."  
The boy sprang forward, grabbing Sai's sword straight out of his hands as he moved. Toka tried to stop his advance with a wave of senbon, but Sasuke nimbly dodged every single one before reaching the woman.

The sword swung out sloppily and, while the woman knew she should have been able to dodge, the blade bit flesh. Everyone but Sasuke gasped in surprise. An untrained academy student should have never been able to land a hit on an anbu, especially not in his first swing.

"What? Your dodge was so easy to predict, I could have done it with my eyes closed. Now… die."  
To her credit, the woman's reflexes kept her alive for a few moments. Every dodge she made was somehow read, every movement she made was met with the sharp edge of Sai's blade.

The last blow came when Toka tried to jump back and flee. She fainted a dodge to the left, and pushed back. The very tip of the blade nicked the woman's neck, severing her jugular and causing her to bleed out in seconds.

"...that's for Naruto you bitch."

He dropped the sword and ran over to his friends fallen body. Sai was already removing the senbon and checking the boy's vitals.

"I don't think he's dead. None of these senbon hit any vital areas. I believe Toka put him in a death-like state to make you think he was dead. I assume she planned to take him to Danzo-sama.

We'll just have to take him to the hospital and hope they can help him.

I'll carry him, we must move quickly, there are still two more ninja out there."

Luckily, they were able to make it back to town without any more confrontation. Even luckier, they ran into Kakashi while trying to carry Naruto to the hospital.

"What happened to you four?"

"Kakashi-san, there are two Root Anbu in the woods leading up to the top of the monument. The third was killed by Sasuke, but the others are still loose. Naruto was struck by one, and I believe he was put into a near-death state. He needs medical attention, immediately."

Kakashi made one shadow clone, which disappeared instantly. No leaves followed it, meaning Kakashi was distracted.

"Give the boy to me, and get to the Hokage's office. I'll take care of Naruto."  
The three boys nodded, running toward the office.

"I know a shortcut, but it's risky. If those two followed us, an alleyway is the perfect place to ambush us."  
"Doesn't matter, we need to get there quickly, before the enemy removes all proof of them being in the woods. Worth the risk, lead the way."  
Nao led them on a weird path, sprinting through dark alleyways and climbing over fences. Eventually, they came to a long alley, filled with piles of garbage.  
"If they're waiting for us, it'll be here."  
"Sasuke… I'll need my sword back now."

The Uchiha went to hand Sai the sword, but dropped it halfway and collapsed.

"What the hell happened?"

"It's his sharingan. He kept them active the whole time, whether he didn't know how to turn them off or chose not to I don't know…"

"I'll carry him, he's light. I'll go first, you cover me from behind."

Nao picked his friend up and slung him over his shoulder.

"Ready?" Nao nodded, "Then let's move."

The two took off, the alleyway seemed to grow longer with every step they took.

Halfway through, Sai grabbed Nao and threw him to the ground. A volley of Kunai flew over the boys' heads, and would have impaled them had Sai not acted.

Both of the enemy Anbu were standing at the end of the alley, blocking the way that Sai and Nao needed to go.  
"You're not making it through, traitor. And you, creepy-eyes, you're coming with us."

Nao nudged Sai's leg, as he was still on the ground, and whispered "There are two more on the roof above us, and four hiding behind us. I think they're transformed as garbage cans…"  
"Well… the only way out… is DOWN!"

Sai formed a dozen handsigns and then grabbed his friends.

"Dotun: Headhunter!"

The three boys sunk underground, and Sai pulled them ten feet to the left into a building.

They emerged from the ground in the basement, and Sai fell to his knees.

"Running… low on… chakra…"

"I must say Sai, that was clever. It's too bad that I'm the one who taught you that!"

Eight anbu emerged from the walls all around them, blocking all exits. Sai dropped a smoke pellet and began rapidly painting onto his scroll, releasing snake after snake from the paper. He got to a dozen before collapsing in exhaustion.

A gust of wind blew through the room, removing the smoke and revealing Nao standing alone between his two collapsed friends.

"Your friends are dead, and you're ours."

Nao thought back to his training with Yamato.

" _Remember, chakra can do amazing things when you're in a pinch. It's often when you're in a serious pinch that your body can do amazing things. Chakra is no different. When there's no option left, trust in yourself and do your best. That's all you really can do."_

Nao closed his eyes and let his body relax. He felt for his chakra, and focused it into his head.

" _Come on Nao, you have to think of something! Your friends are going to die here! Think. Think. Think. THINK!"_

A flash lit up the room, a white spark of light that originated just behind Nao. Many of the Anbu dissipated upon seeing the flash, with only one left standing. He was holding his eyes and screaming in pain.

"Hello Nao."

The boy whirled around and saw a tall man wearing a white mask, and holding a staff in his hand. The mask had three comma marks in a circle on the brow, and two eye holes. One had a red eye similar to the one he had seen in Sasuke's own eyes, and the other was a purple-blue and filled with rings.

"I am Obito, and I'm here to give you someth… oh, who's this?"

The Root Anbu recovered from the flashbang-like burst of light and began going through handsigns.

"Uh, no. Sorry, this is for Nao's ears only," he said as he raised his hand in the direction of the man, "Shinra Tensei."

The Anbu flew into the wall at devastating speeds, going straight through it and into the next room. The wall collapsed on top of him, leaving him either dead or severely incapacitated.

"Now, where was I… Ah yes. I am Obito, and I'm from another dimension!"

"Uh… what the hell are you talking about?"

Obito chuckled, and pulled off his mask, "Tell me, do you see how my eye has an odd pattern in it? The red one."

"Yeah, and?"

"Well, that eye enables me to become intangible by storing my body in another dimension. If I still had it, my other sharingan would have been able to absorb objects into this dimension and shoot them back out whenever I pleased."

"Cool. Now, why are you here and what do you want from me? I'm in a bit of a hurry…"  
"Right, sorry, I'm easily distracted. I discovered one day that not only could I move myself between the real world and my personal pocket dimension, but I can also travel to another dimension that neighbors my own. By doing so, I came to this world and discovered that this dimension was currently going through events that happened a few years before in my own world. So, I decided to alter the events a bit in order to save some people I care about."

"Ohhhhkay… who are you trying to save then?"

"The boy at your feet, on the left, as well as the one who always wears orange. Naruto and Sasuke."

"Huh. I don't believe a word you're saying."

Obito laughed, "I didn't think you would, but I promise I'm telling the truth. See, in my world, I have just committed a very, very bad act. I killed many that I used to call comrades. I hurt people for no honest reason, and was absolutely insane.  
A friend of yours, Naruto, convinced me to change sides and correct my misdeeds. We managed to win the day, but I still couldn't bring back those I had killed. I locked myself into my dimension, and began to ponder what I could do to redeem myself. It was during my meditation that I felt a foreign source of chakra deep in my dimension, so far away that I had never felt it before. It was this world, and I began to explore it. That brings me back to what I said earlier, and now you know the whole story."

Nao sighed, and gave in, "Alright… so what do you want me to do about this?"  
"Well… I ruined Naruto's life. The same goes for Sasuke. I'd like to try and correct that, and so I have written a scroll for you…"  
The man handed Nao a large scroll, with line after line of text.

"You will use this to help your friends. While you are doing this, I will be traveling this world searching for any differences from mine and I will periodically update you on what to do… Good luck!"

The man was enveloped in a swirl, and disappeared.

"Shit."

NnNnNnNnN

 **That was a lot of dialogue. And a lot of explaining.**

 **It's probably very confusing, and honestly I feel that this chapter was pretty dumb. If it was, let me know and I'll rewrite it.**

 **IF you have any questions, send me a pm. I'll try to help you out.**

 **Thanks for the read!**

 **Hn.**


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